Are Federal 595 Super Steels Rubbish?

[GTSBoy]

My vote is still for the KU36 as a great value for money proposition. They stick like shit to a blanket in the dry. They don't grip quite as well until you get a little heat in them, and this more so in the damp, but I have never had cause to worry about how well they hold on in the wet, even in streaming water, even with only 1mm of tread depth left, once they are warm. Which doesn't take long.

[zebra]

I still love my Pirelli p7s. Totally transformed the front end of the soarer. But exxy I paid 200 a pop and they were on special

Were worth every penny IMO and wish I kept them for the supra

[ichi-go]

I'm running -3.5 front and -2 rear camber, Hankook ventus RS 3, 255/40 17.

I have no understeer on the street wet or dry.

Cheap hard tyres are fine for shopping trolleys or doing skids.

Tyres cost $125 a piece from tire rack.$730 delivered.

Why do people buy sporty style cars and then go pov on the most important part.

^^ This man speaks the truth!

[dirtyRS4]

hard compound tyres.

shithouse in the wet

[dori34]

they are okay for the street and daily driving, i haven't pushed them too hard yet but i'd imagine they would be alrite in the dry but loose grip when it gets too hot (sorta like how the proxes 4 were after 4laps @ wakie)

does anyone know of any places that stock hankook ventus in NSW at a decent price?

from tirerack, it equals toa bout $250 a tyre after shipping so anythign around that range, i'd be happy to pay.

[gregor]

I haven't had problems with the 595SS over the time I've used them. In a previous car (a turbo FWD) they were a lot better than some pirellis that cost me a lot more and performed worse. Not hard to control in the wet at all.

At the moment I have 595 RSR's on the front of my XR6T and they never give me an issue either even when its pi$$ing down. There's gotta be something else up with people that are having massive issues, whether its driving style or car setup or something else again. Not saying that better tyres wouldnt help, but considering a very significant percentage of cars on the road (id imagine at least 75+) run worse tyres and that you dont see people spinning out or crashing at every corner in the wet, then maybe it's not just the rubber.

[Cassbo]

I found that 595SSs tend to go to shit after too many heat cycles (ie, after 4 months of monthly track days).

[mystery_kid]

they go to shit after 4 track days because they arent the sort of tyres that are ideal for the track

i wouldnt have though tyre compound would have a bearing on wet performance, the tread pattern is what gives a tyre wet performance

[The Bogan]

i wouldnt have though tyre compound would have a bearing on wet performance, the tread pattern is what gives a tyre wet performance

Tread pattern and compound both effect wet performance, a hard tyre will not "blend into the surface" (for want of a better phrase).

[Victory]

I run Toyo T1R's on my GTR and street GTS-T because I want good grip in both wet and dry conditions and as I do only a small number of k's in these cars the price of $1400 for a set is justified.

On our track GTS-T we run Federal 595 SS as our street tyres because we have semi's for track use. With the more agressive wheel alignment and suspension components you cannot justify the cost of high performance street tyres and with their softer compounds they would only have a short life span. The Federals do this job well but they are nothing like the Toyo T1R;s to drive on.

[sydking]

agreed, ku31's $140ea ku36's $180ea not that i think 36's are great but they shit on 31's. (that on 235x45x17)

were you see the ku36's for $180, BEst ive found it $300, The 595 RSR are cheaper now/

[GTSBoy]

I paid ~$215 each fitted for KU36 at Adelaide Tyrepower a few months back. Had to twist his arm a bit. That's getting marginal on the value proposition now.

[niZmO_Man]

Pump your tyres up to 40psi.

Get wheel alignment done. Ask for pre and post alignment printout.

[sydking]

Pump your tyres up to 40psi.

Get wheel alignment done. Ask for pre and post alignment printout.

Mabey a obvious question to some. But.....

What determines the tyre pressure? Ie size? would a 235/40/18 be different to 235/40/19, Rim width? car weight?

Doing a bit of reading now, Seems people are doing there own calcs based on car weight.

R33 GTS4- My door car read 32 PSI max - thats what i always had them. Wheels were some jap 15" rubbish.

Edited October 30, 2012 by sydking

[GTSBoy]

The best tyre pressure to use is that which gives the best result. This is easy to work out. You fang the car through some corners that you know and assess how it feels and how well it goes/grips. Then you add a few psi. Refang. More psi. Refang. It will have a region where it feels best and then it will probably start feeling bad. The middle of the "feels best" region is most likely your best tyre pressure. For performance anyway.

Done on a track you can time the car and you can measure the tyre surface temperature as well. This will allow you to work it out down to 1 psi accuracy, although you might find that you need different pressures in different tyres (on the same track) and different pressures between tracks. That's just because different tracks put more or less load on different tyres relative to each other.

In general, on modern radials, you will get OK performance at 32 psi and tyre life will be fine. If you flog the car hard through the hills though, you will probably experience the tyres getting hot if you start at such a low pressure. So most often you'll end up needing to run in the mid 30s. Even in the same size, some tyres have stiffer sidewalls and so will need less pressure. Others will need a few extra psi. All worked out by experimentation. Anyone who tries to do it by calculation has their head stuck up their arse and needs to get off the computer and out into the real world.

[sydking]

Great response! Cheers

[niZmO_Man]

Testing. Try different pressures and see what you like.

Some tyes like 36-38psi, some work >40psi. Some are fine at 32psi.

I generally run all my tyres at 38psi (45 series or less).

[dori34]

have been reading up that KU31 are better than the 595SS ?

this might be a better option as they have said to handle better and have less road noise.

[GTSBoy]

KU31 are quite possibly better than the 595SS in the wet. That wouldn't be hard - the KU31 has a fairly normal tread pattern and the 595SS is pretty poor in the wet. I would still expect the 595SS to be better in the dry than a KU36, but of course, everyone's mileage will vary.

[sydking]

KU31 are quite possibly better than the 595SS in the wet. That wouldn't be hard - the KU31 has a fairly normal tread pattern and the 595SS is pretty poor in the wet. I would still expect the 595SS to be better in the dry than a KU36, but of course, everyone's mileage will vary.

why would you expect the 595ss to be better then the Ku36, WHen the closest comparrison to the 36 is the RSR. Both should be miles ahead of the ss. or 31